Scuba

I hadn't been scuba diving since seven years ago in Australia, but the the 37 dive shops on Boracay Island enticed me to try again. I was a little nervous to be honest, but some young guys from the Blue Mango dive center promised to give me a free refresher course so I signed up. The first day I was the only customer so Mike the dive master was able to check me out thoroughly on the deck of the Jack Nelson. My first breaths underwater were deep and rapid, and for the first minute no matter how much air I sucked, it wasnt enough. Almost returned to the surface. But then, I started seeing fishes and corals and soon forgot all about breathing. Seconds later, I was so engrossed with life under the sea that I forgot completely about the surface world as well. Suddenly, there weren't any people or phones or birds or books or trees or tricycles. There was only ocean water, sunlight streaming through it, and plethora of things I couldn't believe I never realized existed.



The first day Mike and I did two nearly hour-long dives in shallow water (5-8 meters) in La Laguna and saw so many things I can' t remember them all. Corals, fishes of all shapes, sizes and colors, starfish, sea cucumbers, and my favorites, a pipe fish and a clouded moray eel.



The second day I did only one dive, but it was spectacular. On a reef called Friday's Rock, great big dog snapper cruised over us while we checked out the reef below. Clownfish (aka Nemo) everywhere, an unbelievable lionfish, a literal garden of dancing garden eels (you have to lie really still on the bottom so they dont retreat into their holes), a mantis shrimp, and again a great many things I've forgotten the names of.



The photos are not mine, but courtesy of the internet.